Closure for bags



P. E. MORRILL.

CLOSURE FOR BAGS;

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1919. I 1,361,605. Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- INVENTOR;

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P. E. MORRILL.

CLOSURE FOR BAGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1919.

1,361,605, 7 Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

6) V //v VEN TOR:

TTORNEY,

P. E. MORRILL.

CLOSURE FOR BAGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1919.

1,361,605. P e Dec. 7, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVEAYITOR: W

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP E. MORRILL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO BEMIS BROTHERS BAG I COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A. CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

CLOSURE FOR BAGS.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PHILIP E. MORRILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closures for Bags, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention relates to improvements in closures for bags, and has for its object to provide a device of this character of simple construction adapted to be applied conveniently and quickly to and removed from securely closing position in association with a bag.

Another object is to provide a device of the character described that may be sealed in closing position so that unauthorized tampering with the contents of the bag through the mouth of the bag may be detected readily.

In closing a filled bag made of canvas or other fabric, it has been the custom in practice to sew the lips of the mouth together by means of cord or the like and to form cars at each end of the said mouth. This practice requires that the sewing-cord or the like be cut when the bag is reopened to remove part or all of the contents, and, frequently, the fabric of the bag itself is cut and damaged in this method of opening the bag by means of the knife or other implement, and the bag is thus often impaired for further use. and, moreover, the perforations caused by the sewing-needle used in sewing together the lips of the bag-mouth tend to weaken the fabric adjacent thereto so that the bag must soon be repaired or'discarded and its further usefulness destroyed or impaired. Furthermore, the closure of a filled bag effected by the customary process of sewing with needle and cord often'breaks open in handling or shipping, because the fabric perforated by the needle and under the strain of the cord breaks or the cord itself breaks and the contents or portions thereof are lost, or the stitching may have been done carelessly and therefore the mouth of the bag may be imperfectly closed and the contents lost. Also, the unauthorized opening of a sewed-closure bag is not always readily detectable, and it is possible to open a bag closed by a suture at its mouth, remove a part of the contents of the bag or otherwise tamper therewith, and reclose the bag by suture without leaving readily detectable Specification of Letters Patent. Patented De 7, 1920 Application filed May 9, 1919.

Serial No. 295,822.

evidences that the bag and contents have been tampered with.

A great advantage of the device of the present invention is that the closing and opening of the mouth of the bag may be quickly and effectively and conveniently accomplished without sewing or stitching in closing the bag and without cutting or breaking stitches in opening the bag. Moreover, a bag closed by the device of this invention may be sealed so that unauthorized tampering with the contents may be detected readily.

Other advantages of the present invention are, that the bag may be reused repeatedly and its life is prolonged, because there are no stitching perforations at its mouth to weaken the fabric; that the loss of contents frequently caused by the breaking of the cords of a bag with a sewed mouth or the tearing of the bag adjacent such suture is avoided in transit or handling, as the device of this invention secures the mouth in closing position effectively under practically all conditions; and that the closure device of this invention may be reused repeatedly in connection with the same bag or another bag.

Other objects and advantages of this invention are hereinafter set forth in this specification, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which like numbers of reference denote like parts wherever they occur,

Figure 1 depicts a front elevation of an 1 empty bag with the preferred form of the device of this invention operatively associated therewith to close the mouth of the Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the form of the closing device depicted in Fig. 1, only a fragment of the bag being shown;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of Fig. 2 taken longitudinally of the closing device;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the inner bar or tube around which the portion adjacent the mouth of the bag is looped, the said bar or tube being removed from the bag and other parts of the device;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the slotted tube of this device removed from the bag and the associated parts of the closure;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing in detail a form of key adapted for looking a closing device of this invention;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a modified form of the closure of this invention associated I with an empty bag;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged View of Fig. mellowing a fragment of a bag associated therewith and looking at the opposite side of Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of Fig. 8, taken longitudinally of the closing device;

Fig. 10 is a view in perspective, showing the inner rod or bar of the modified form of device of Figs. 7 8, and 9 removed from the parts associated therewith;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the slotted tube of the said modified form of the device removed from associated parts;

Fig. 12 shows a fragmentary view, partly in plan and partly in section, depicting a modified form of the device of this invention removed from a bag and in which the core is held locked in place in association with the slotted tube by means of a spring;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view of a modified form of the slotted hollow loop-holder member of the device of this invention in which the slot has turned-up lips; and

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary view, partly in plan and partly in section, showing another modified form of the closure of this invention removed from the bag.

Bag 1 may be made of canvas or other fabric, or may be made of any suitable or desired material used for bags.

The mouth-portion of bag 1 is lapped upon itself looped over a core 2 or the like with the lips 3 of the bag extending downwardly and lying adjacent the body of the bag, as best seen in Figs. 1, 3, and 7 of the drawings. Core 2 may be of any suitable material or construction such, for instance, as the hollow tubular metal core 2 (see Figs. 3 and 4) or the wooden core 2 of solid construction best seen in Figs. 9 and 10 of the accompanying drawings. Loopholder 4 may be a longitudinally-slotted tube of any suitable material, such, for instance, as metal, and is adapted to he slid lengthwise thereof over core 2 with the lapped-over mouth-portion of bag 1 looped over said core 2, the opposite edges of longitudinal slot 5 being in engagement with or adjacent to opposite sides of the loop formed by looping the said mouth-portion of bag 1 over the core 2, with the lips 3 of the mouth of the bag depending downwardly of the bag and disposed below and outside of the slot 5. Entrance end 6 of slot 5 may be slightly enlarged or its edges spread apart,jand the end 7 of holder '4 adjacent said entrance end 6 of slot 5 may be enlarged, as best seen in Figs. 5 and 11, to provide for the additional thickness of bag material formed by side-seam 8 of bag 1.

A preferred form of core 2 is best seen in Fig. 4, and the preferred form of tubular said flanged-cap being adapted to receive therein the enlarged end .7 of the form of loop-holder 4 shown in Fig. 5substa'ntially in the manner illustrated in Figs, 1, 2, and 3, and in the said form of loop-holder 4 longitudinal slot 5 may be of less length than the holder 4, as plainly shown in Fig. 5, said slot 5 terminating substantially at and end 11 borne by the said form of core 2, said extension end 11 being provided with oppositely disposed perforations 12 adapted to register substantially with key-hole 10 above described, to provide means for locking the closure of this invention in closing position substantially as shown in Figs.

1, 2, and 3 by any suitable device such, for instance, as by means of key 13 shown in detail in Fig. 6,said key 13 being provided with a head 14 at one end, the opposite end being provided with perforation 15, through which perforation a sealing pin 16 or the like (shown in Fig. 2) may be inserted to seal the device in locked position. It is, of course, understood that any wellknown seal, such, for instance, as that used for sealing freight-car doors and the like in closed position, may be substituted for key 13 and seal-pin 16 inserted through perforations 12 and keyhole 10. in a'well-known manner.

In the form of the device of this invention shown in said Figs. 1 and 6 inclusive, the unslotted extension 11 of loop-holder 4 at one side of bag 1 and cap 9 at the other side 'of the bag prevent the bag from being renot continuing through tubular extension of the bag, but, when the sealing and lock ing device has been removed, tubular holder 4 may be withdrawn longitudinally of itself and the device of this invention readily removed from the bag, giving access thereto through its mouth. I

Referring now to Figs. 7 to 11, inclusive, in which a modified form of core 2, loopholder 4, and other associated parts are depioted. ,The core 2 is shown to be a solid bar of wood or other suitable material and is provided with a reduced portion or neck 18 terminating in an enlarged head 19, said head 19 being provided with transversely-perforated key-hole 20, said neck 18 being adapted to cooperate with enlarged end-portion 7 of loop-holder 4 (in the modified form shown in Fig. 11) to receive and hold the increased thickness formed by the side seam 8 of the bag 1, and the said modified form of loop-holder 4 may have its longitudinal slot 5 extend along the entire length of the holder, as best seen in Fig. '11.

It is, of course, understood that reduced portion or neck 18 may be omitted when the construction of enlarged end-portion 7 of loop-holder 4 is of sufiicient size in its internal dimensions to receive therein the increased thickness of side seam 8 of bag 1 looped over the core 2 of a dimensionat 18 uniform with the dimension of the rest of said core 2.

The enlarged end 7 of the form of holder 4 shown in assembled position in Figs. 7, 8, and 9 and separately shown in Fig. 11 is provided. with an eye-piece 21 or the like adapted to seat upon seat 22 formed on head 19, so that the eye of said eye-piece 21 registers with the key-hole 20, permit-- ting the assembled parts of the form of the device of this invention depicted in Figs.

7 to 11, inclusive, to be locked and sealed in closing position shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9 by means of any suitable locking or sealing device, such, for instance, as the seal 23 (Figs. 7 and 8) of well-known construction.

By comparing the core shown in Fig. 4 with the core shown in Fig. 10, it will be observed that Fig. 4 shows the core. to be tubular with a flanged head at one end and an extension bearing a key-hole at the other, while Fig. 10 shows a solid core having a reduced neck and an enlarged head with a key-hole at one end thereof, the. opposite end key-hole-bearing extension of Fig. 4 being omitted in Fig. 10. Also, by comparing the holder depicted in Fig. 5 with the holder depicted in Fig. 11, it will be observed that longitudinal slot 5 of Fig. 5 is closed at one end by extension piece 11, while in the holder of Fig. 11 the extension piece 11 is omitted and slot 5 is open at both ends,

- there being in the core of Fi 7 an eyepiece borne by enlarged. end said eyepiece forminga part of a lockingdevice 'hereinabove described;

In the modified form of the device of this invention shown in Fig. 12, core 2 may be provided with an end having a sliced or cut-out portion 23, and. spring 24 may be mounted on said core-end portion with one end of said spring secured to an adjacent with sliced-outportion 23 and with spring 24 having toe 26, so that when core 2 is inserted in member 4 and spring-toe 26 is in engagement with adjacent ends of hollow member 4 said core 2 will be held in position against lengthwise movement relative to hollow member 4.

Fig. 13 shows a modified slot-edge of slot 5 of hollow member 4 and in which the said edges are provided with turned-up another or when said edges come in contact with other bags in any manner, the purpose of said rounded or spun-over edges being to prevent cutting or damage to such adjacent bags.

Having thus described this invention, I hereby reserve the benefit of all changes in form, arrangement, order, or use of parts, as it is evident that many minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A bag closure for bags having seamed lips comprising a core adapted to support the mouth-portion of a bag looped thereover, said core having an enlarged head borne by one end thereof, and a hollow member having a longitudinal slot and adapted to be slid lengthwise over said core with said looped mouth-portion therebetween, said slot having an enlarged portion adapt ed to accommodate therein the seamed sideedges of the looped portion of the bag, said head being adapted to prevent the bag from being withdrawn from the closure longitu dinally of said slot in one direction and the edges adjacent the entrance to the reduced portion of said slot being adapted to engage said side-seam to prevent the bag from being withdrawn from the closure longitudinally of said slot in the opposite direction.

2. A bag closure for bags having seamed lips comprising a core adapted to support the mouth-portion of a bag looped thereover, said core, having a head borne by one end thereof, a hollow member having a slot longitudinally thereof and adapted to be slid lengthwise over said core with said looped mouth-portion therebetween, said slot having a flared mouth-portion opening outwardly of one end of said hollow mem ber adapted to be adjusted adjacent said head, said flared portion of the slot being adapted to accommodate between its edges the additional thickness of bagmaterial in said looped portion at the side-seam of the bag, said head being adapted to close the outer opening of said flared end of the slot to prevent the bag from being withdrawn from the closure in one direction longitudinally of said slot, the edges of said slot adj acent the entrance to the reduced portion thereof being adapted to engage said additional thickness of the looped side-seam portion of the bag to prevent the bag from being withdrawn from the closure in the opposite direction longitudinally of said slot.

3. The combination with a bag having a side-seam of a closure for the mouth of the bag, said closure comprising a core adapted to support the mouth-portion of the bag looped thereover, a head borne by one end of said core, and a longitudinally-slotted hollow member adapted to be slid lengthwise over said core with said looped mouth-portion therebetween, an end-portion of said longitudinal slot being enlarged to accommodate therein the additional thickness of bag material at said side-seam, the adjacent reduced slot-portion and the balance of said slot being of less width than the said additional thickness of bag material to prevent said bag from being withdrawn from the closure in one direction longitudinally of said slot, said head being adapted to close the outwardly-opening end of said enlarged portion of the slot to prevent the bag from being withdrawn from the closure in the opposite direction longitudinally of said slot.

4. The combination with a bag having a mouth-seam and a side-seam of a closure for the mouth of the bag, said closure comprising a core adapted to support the mouthportion of the bag looped thereover, a head borne by one end of said core, and a longitudinally-slotted hollow member adapted to be slid lengthwise over said core with said looped mouth-portion therebetween, the slot of said hollow member being widened for a portion of its length adjacent one open end thereof to accommodate therein the additional thickness of bag material in the loop at said side-seam, the width of the reduced portion of said slot being less than said additional thickness of bag material in. the loop at said side-seam to prevent the bag from being withdrawn from the closure in one direction longitudinally of said slot, said head being adapted to close the outwardly-opening end of said enlarged portionof the slot to prevent the bag from being withdrawn from theclosure in the opposite direction longitudinally of said slot,

signature.

which the mouth of the bag is adaptedlto be looped, a hollow member to receive the bag and core and having a slot through which the projecting portions of the bag extend, the slot being shaped adjacent one end to receive a portion of the bag and prevent movement of the bag longitudinally of the slot in one direction.

6. A bag closure comprising a core over which the mouth of the bag is adapted to be looped, a hollow member to receive the bag and core and having a'slot through which the projecting portions of the bag extend. the slot being formed with a wedge-shaped enlargement adjacent one endto receive a portion of the bag and prevent'movement of the bag'longitudinally of the slot in one direction.

7. A bag closure comprising a core ov r which.the mouth of the bag is adapted to be looped, a hollow member-to receive the bag and core andhaving a slot through which the projecting portions of the bag extend,

the slot being shaped adjacent one end to receive a portion'of the bag and prevent movement of the bag 'longitudinallyof the slot in one direction, the core being formed with a head end to close one end of the hol: low member when the core is in place.

8. A bag closurecomprising'acore over which the mouth of thevbag is adapted :to be looped, a hollow member to receive the bag and coreand having a slot through which the projecting portions of the bag extend, the slot being shaped acent one end to receive a portion of the bag and prevent movement of the bag longitudinally of the slot in one direction, the core being formed with a head end to close one end of thehol low member when the core is in place, and means for locking the core and hollow member together at the end opposite the'head end of the core. r

9. VA bag closure comprising a hollow member enlarged atone end a bag-receiving core adapted to be inserted in such hollow member and havinga head to fit wlthin said enlargement when the core is in 7 place, said hollow member having a slot to permit'the passage of the bag therethrough, the slot being'wedge-shaped at one end.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my PHILIP E. MORRILL; 

